Go to lunch with an old friend...you'll improve your spirits and maybe your business, too.
I recently had the opportunity to catch up with classmate from high school. Although it had been 20 years since we graduated, it was more our ‘present’ that we discussed than our past. And by the end of our lunchtime conversation, we had discovered ways in which we could help one another in our work.
This meeting — and a comment my friend made – caused me to think about the focus our business society has placed lately on “social networking” as a marketing tool. It’s interesting that we call it “social networking,” yet we most often think about the electronic, online implementation rather than the face-to-face, hand-shaking type. And there’s no doubt about it — social online interactions help to build a comfort level with a person or business over time, when done correctly.
This meeting with my old classmate reminded me that connecting face to face on a personal level is far more powerful than any text, pictures or ”LOLs” you can place on a screen. I think as we all sit at our desks each day staring into an LCD panel, we sometimes forget that. My friend and I were able to have a conversation — out loud — with words — not typed on a screen. And we looked at each other and gauged the emotion with which things were being said. No emoticons. Real faces.
I knew going into our meeting that there were ways that we could help each other in our business lives and was hopeful that we’d be able to discuss them. But, of course, we started by talking about our families and work lives in general. We established a personal connection first. After talking about our children and schools and challenges in our personal lives, it was then very easy to discuss ways we could help one another with our business lives, too.
What I gained that day was not just an opportunity to expand awareness of my business and also help my friend, but I was emotionally buoyed by the power of the connection and the renewed friendship as we talked about our families and our work. I left that meeting with an even stronger sense of possibility and hope for my business, and the excitement of being able to help my friend overcome a business dilemma, too. But most of all, it was enjoyable to have re-discovered a “new” old friend.
So keep on Twittering and Facebooking (is that verb?) and Linking-In and Blogging…they can pay off. But I encourage you to seek out someone you haven’t seen for quite a while and make a date for lunch. What you’ll find is that you both likely have ways in which you can help one another, personally and professionally. And it just makes you feel good.
Oh, and when you meet your old friend for lunch, you’ll probably spend more time together than your schedule allowed and you’ll be busier that afternoon because of it. But it will be worth it. I know it was for me. Just be sure to bring plenty of change for the parking meter.
Eric